Chatham Resident Pens Third Novel

CHATHAM, NJ—It took major life changes to get Colleen Ferrary Bader to start writing three years ago. But now, the Chatham leadership coach and mom is about to publish her third novel, "The Brigante Family."

"I made this crazy rule for myself," Bader explained, "if I said I was going to do something, I'd immediately take action. If I wanted to go hang gliding, I'd come up with a plan on how to do it."

After Bader wrote her first novel, "The Decision," a personal story that contains a lot of her own experiences, she found it oddly therapeutic. She said she wrote it in response to turmoil in her life, including relatives who were sick.

"It became really stress-relieving," she said.

She penned a second book, "Beachside Mafia," a story about a girl coming of age in an organized crime family, the following year. Despite their differences in genre, she also found that her books had gained a cult following, suggesting that she might have some talent for storytelling.

"I stared to think I might have something here," she said, when the first two novels caught on. "My daughter's friends were reading my books."

Her new effort, "The Brigante Family," is a sequel to "Beachside." After something of a cliffhanger at the end of the first installment, "Brigante" focuses on Bria, the main character, and her efforts to rebuild her father's shattered New York mob family in the Caribbean.

"It's her rise through this labyrinth of crime," Bader said, "to take back what she owns."

Bader said the new book will be released within the next month or two, depending on last minute changes from her editor. She also said that she enjoyed writing the new novel so much, she sees a third Brigante-themed book and much more writing to come.

"My dream to be to write as a full time profession," Bader said, "that would be amazing."